Left the camino in Ponferrada
¡Hola Peregrinos and Peregrinas!
In Ponferrada, on Wednesday, I finally gave in and went to a doctor with my bronchitis. I've been coughing a lot but no pain in my chest or throat, so I've just been walking very slow and short etapas. But on Tuesday, just before Molinaseca I got asthma... So then I decided that it was time to see a medico.
In Ponferrada the map I got at the tourist oficina was crap. It showed neither the parts of town where the estacion Renfe, estacion autobuses, hostales were nor the Centro de Salud. They also told me I should go to a certain hospital that had service for peregrinos. Turned out that hospital only treated blisters and such, and to see a dr there would cost a lot (private hospital). But the girl in the reciption was wonderful and photocopied a map from the phonebook where I could find everything useful. Including C de Salud, which she marked of course!
At the C de Salud I got an appointment within ten minutes, and was told to get some antibiotics, and that I could keep on walking as long as I took it really slow and to drink a lot of fluids.
I stayed two nights in Ponferrada at a hostal called la Madrileña, on the 4th floor. Even walking the stairs there gave me a heavy breathing, but I went from I'll leave to I will continue over and over again... :cry:
Finally I decided it is better to quit now, and have ten days or so to walk instead of having to give up closer to Santiago. It takes a few days to get into walking mood, so having maybe five days left would feel much much worse!
Once I made the decision I felt really good. I took a train to Barcelona, and now I'm at a friend's flat. I've washed my clothes an everything feels great. Still coughing, but not as much, so the antibiotics are working.
I will continue and hopefully come all the way to Santiago in November.
:mrgreen: